For your consideration. Put it together myself. Note that the following top ten occupations only include occupations with at least 100,000 employed in the US.
A few points:
When the mean pay is a lot higher than the median pay, there’s probably a small group within the occupation that makes a lot more money than the rest.
Most chief executives make less than the average physician. Yes, there are super-star executives who make an obscene amount of money - but they are the exception, not the rule.
Medicine and management: that’s where the big money is.
These ten occupations account for 4.1% of the US employed (142,549,250 total in 2017) and 12.2% of total US labor compensation ($7.2 trillion in 2017).
Occupations aren’t where you’re going to find the top 1%. Nope, the top 1% are mostly owners of partnerships and small (‘S’) corporations. These “pass-through” business owners earn more, on average, than major shareholders of the big ‘C’ corporations.
Something to think about….
Reference:
Cooper, M., J. McClelland, et al. (2016). "Business in the United States: Who Owns It, and How Much Tax Do They Pay?" Tax Policy and the Economy 30(1): 91-128. https://doi.org/10.1086/685594